


Inevitably

by Lemon_Candy



Category: GOT7
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Fluff, M/M, Rating May Change, Slow-ish Burn?, side jaebum/jinyoung
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-14
Updated: 2018-07-25
Packaged: 2019-06-08 17:32:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15248343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lemon_Candy/pseuds/Lemon_Candy
Summary: Mark thought he was okay with his simple (but admittedly boring) life, until Jackson waltzes right into it.He's someone Mark never knew he needed, and inevitably, Mark falls in love little by little.[discontinued]





	1. Smile for Me

“Where are you going after class?”

“Home,” Mark replies easily. He doesn’t have anywhere else to be.

It’s always been the same thing for him for as long as he could remember; wake up early, have breakfast, sit through school, head home, study, and then be in bed no later than nine thirty.

The only changing aspect in his life was that he moved a lot. Growing up, Mark and his family often travelled due to his father’s job. So naturally, a majority of his friendships did not last very long. It’s never really bothered Mark though, since he was more of a loner anyway, and preferred to keep his conversations short and to the point. He might find himself lonely every now and then, but he gets over it.

Now, Mark had been living in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, for nearly four years. He likes it here. The weather is nice (although it can be chilly at times), the food is good, and the people are well mannered for the most part.

He’s also managed to make some new friends at school. There was Jinyoung, a dark haired boy a grade below him, who he bonded with over a mutual love for music and coffee. And Jaebum, whom he occasionally partnered up with for a class assignment. Mark appreciated their company and hanging out with them. However, when Jinyoung once asked him if he wanted to come to a house party, and promised him “it’s not as bad as it sounds”, Mark had politely declined. “You’re no fun,” Jinyoung had pouted.

Jaebum too. Jaebum is always telling him he should loosen up and enjoy being young while he still can, like Mark isn’t only just a few months older than him, causing Mark to give the other boy his most exasperated, half joking-half serious, “Not a chance.”

Mark is aware that it’s probably a bleak, boring way he’s spending his youth, when some kids his age are getting high in bathrooms and drinking themselves to an early grave, but he doesn’t mind. Mark’s at peace with it. No matter how many of his classmates like calling him the “good kid” or “teacher’s pet”, he’s who he is and he’s happy. It’s how he was raised and lived all his seventeen years.

He was perfectly fine, until he met Jackson.

It started on a Tuesday morning, and Mark is already in his seat when the bell rings to signal the start of first period. His maths teacher walks in with another student trailing behind her, someone who Mark hasn’t seen before. He realizes it’s a new student. _A good looking one at that too_ , he registers in the back of his mind.

“Good morning everyone, please welcome our new student, Jackson Wang,” the teacher announces in her usual, monotonous voice.

“ _Wang_ ,” somebody snickers in the back row. If Jackson heard, he doesn’t pay it any mind. He’s still wearing the same blinding smile he entered the room with, and he’s leaning against the board in such a laid back fashion that Mark can’t help but feel a slight twinge of annoyance run through him.

Although Mark knows he shouldn’t judge someone based solely on their appearance, the way Jackson stands there with his school uniform shirt untucked, ears heavily pierced, and head full of slicked back, bleached hair, he can’t help but think he looks like the textbook example of a delinquent. Jackson looks like he would fit right in at school in less than a week, and Mark has never really gotten on well with the loud, popular types.

So of course the teacher says, “You can have a seat behind Mark. Mark, raise your hand will you?”

He shouldn’t be surprised that the new kid was assigned the empty desk behind him. It had been vacant for months, since the last student who occupied the seat packed up and moved to who knows where. Japan. France. America. A better school, probably, Mark thinks as he half-heartedly lifts his hand up. Then, Jackson’s bright grin is briefly directed at him, before he’s walking over and sitting himself down in the desk.

The beginning of class proceeds like usual. Except about ten minutes in, Mark learns the hard way that Jackson is indeed a very talkative person. He feels a finger prod his shoulder, tapping it repeatedly, but he doesn’t react in hopes that the other boy will give up. He also learns that Jackson is persistent.

“Why are you ignoring me?” Mark hears Jackson whine from behind him. “C’mon, I know you’re ignoring me.”

And he’s correct. Too bad the new guy doesn’t know that Mark isn’t much of a talker, isn’t much of a people person in fact. It wasn’t that he was unfriendly, per se, but he just tended to keep to himself more often than not, _especially_ when he actually wants to hear what the teacher is lecturing about. Mark bites back a sigh. He has no idea why Jackson is trying to start a conversation with him in the middle of class.

A couple students nearby are stealing glances at the two, probably out of curiosity of what Mark was going to do. Because they know Mark––he’s that one quiet kid who lingers behind when everyone’s getting ready to leave, that guy who probably doesn't have any friends outside of school, that guy who’s probably never even thought about going to a party his whole life. And Jackson, frankly, looked quite the opposite.

“Mark? That’s your name right?” Silence.

Jackson tries again, “Hey, Markie.”

He gets a few giggles from the girls next to them this time, and Mark feels his eye twitch at the childish nickname.

“Markie––”

“What?” Mark answers stiffly, turning around to glare at Jackson.

He’s met with a victorious smile (does that guy ever stop smiling?) from the blonde who was currently leaning forward in his desk, and their faces end up much closer than he’d expected. Mark hopes that the heat suddenly rushing to his cheeks could be played off as from anger.

Jackson stares at him for a moment, before saying, “Hi.”

Mark wishes the period would end already.

 

_______

 

Later that day, when the last bell rings, Mark is walking down the hallway with Jinyoung and telling the younger about his first period class. “The new guy wouldn’t leave me alone for a minute,” Mark complains, and Jinyoung merely rolls his eyes at his friend. “Also, he keeps smiling all the time. It’s creepy.”

“Maybe he just likes you,” Jinyoung suggests with a quirked brow.

Mark is almost offended. “Likes me?” he questions. “He’s known me for two whole hours, and I barely talked to him for most that time. Besides, he’s not my type. You know me.”

Of course, Jinyoung does know Mark, and he notices that his friend can be a little dense sometimes. Jackson is probably the first person he’s cared to talk about for this long in a while. Jinyoung reminds himself to pester Mark more about it later, as the two were currently on their way to meet up with Jaebum, who they walked home together with since they all three boys lived in the same area.

“It’s just a guess,” Jinyoung says amusedly, before he’s ducking into Jaebum’s classroom to fetch the other boy, leaving Mark outside to frown at his back. He’s debating on whether or not he should follow Jinyoung, but it’s looking pretty crowded in there, with students filing in for after-school tutoring. So he opts to linger outside and wait instead, pulling out his phone to keep him busy.

What he doesn’t expect, however, was to have a certain blond-haired boy appear in front of him the next second. “Ah, Mark! Are you here for tutoring?” Jackson exclaims, seemingly materializing out of nowhere.

Mark jumps a little in surprise, and looks up from the game he was playing. _He asked you a question_ , Mark’s brain helpfully tells him. “I’m waiting for someone,” Mark responds after a moment. “How about you?”

“I’m picking up my girlfriend,” Jackson replies with a grin, and Mark is unsure why he feels a prick of jealousy at that statement. He has a _girlfriend_ already? Mark doesn't even want to know how. He hurriedly directs his eyes back onto his phone screen, and is mumbling a nearly inaudible, “Must be nice." He's half hoping the other doesn't hear, but Jackson catches it.

“It is,” Jackson says, almost wistfully, and Mark misses the funny look he throws him.

They stand side by side in silence for a while, Mark on his phone and Jackson resting against the wall. Surprisingly, the quietness that settles between them is not as awkward as Mark would’ve initially thought.

After a minute or so, Mark peers into the classroom to check on his friends, only to spot Jaebum finishing up his discussion with the teacher, and him and Jinyoung promptly heading towards the door. Mark is moving to go join them, but Jackson is speaking to him again.

“You should try smiling. It’ll probably look good on your pretty face.”

And Mark really, _really_ does not want to admit he’s blushing scarlet again for the second time that day, all because of the same person. He's not giving Jackson a reply, and is instead rushing to his friends’ side.

Jackson Wang was officially going to be the end of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you made it this far, thanks for reading! I hope I didn't make them too out of character. Also, please let me know if there are any mistakes
> 
> Comments/suggestions appreciated as always


	2. Little by Little

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, but here it is!! A new chapter finally.

_“You should try smiling. It’ll probably look good on your pretty face.”_

 

Mark is positive that he’s never ran so fast before to catch up with Jinyoung and Jaebum. He knew it probably seemed rude to abruptly leave the way he did, but in his defense, he had no idea how to react to the weird suggestion (compliment? flirting?) made by Jackson. His mind had gone completely blank at the time. So with cheeks still tinted crimson, Mark had sided up next to his friends as they suspiciously watched on. Thankfully, neither of them chose to point out he looked like he just ran a marathon.

It had been a good ten minutes now since the small incident, but Mark isn’t any less flustered. Because what in the actual _fuck_ was that? Who even says something like that? Apparently Jackson did. These were some of the thoughts racing in Mark’s head as combed a hand through his hair in aggravation. Mark’s thinking he needs a break, and the week has barely even begun. 

He’s so absorbed in his thoughts that he doesn’t notice his friends’ conversation (something about how platypuses are the only mammals that lay eggs––which Jaebum firmly deems untrue, but that’s besides the point really) slow down, and Jinyoung is smirking at him from where he’s standing. 

“So,” The younger boy says, bringing Mark out of his trance. “That was him, wasn’t it?” 

Mark doesn’t need Jinyoung to clarify who ‘him’ is referring to, because Mark is already painfully aware. They both are. The older boy considers playing dumb for a moment, before he figures it’s not worth it and simply nods his head and accepts his fate. Jinyoung wouldn’t let the subject drop so easily anyway.

“Wait, who are we talking about?” Jaebum interjects, turning towards the other two boys.

Oh, that’s right. Mark still hasn’t told him anything about Jackson yet. He’s vaguely surprised that Jinyoung hadn’t spilled the beans, because he absolutely lives for gossip and tells Jaebum nearly everything, but Mark supposes it doesn’t matter at this point either way.

“We’re talking about the new student who has the hots for Mark,” Jinyoung titters.

“He does _not_ ,” Mark hisses, lightly shoving at him. But the other has no intention of relenting.

Jinyoung continues scandalously, “So this new guy, Jackson, is real thirsty for Mark. Keeps smiling at him and stuff. He’s also the one who made Mark go so red in the face a while ago––remember that?––that he looked like a whole tomato, and it’s honestly pretty funny. Bet Jackson’s gonna start winking next time, even.”

Mark is covering his face in embarrassment at that, and he feels so betrayed when Jaebum starts cackling like a madman at Jinyoung’s straightforward summary. God, he really needed to reconsider his choice in friends. Mark shoots Jinyoung a look that says _you’re gonna catch these hands one day if you’re not careful_ as soon as the redness on his face fades. Jinyoung just giggles behind his hand like the little shit he is.

After Jaebum composes himself enough so that won’t burst into another fit of uncontrollable laughter, he’s saying, “Jackson seems like a chill guy. I have him in one of my classes actually.” 

Jinyoung’s eyebrows instantly shoot up. “Whatever you’re thinking about right now, you need to stop,” Mark huffs. He receives an exasperated expression in return.

“Oh come on. You don’t hate him and he seems to like you,” Jinyoung states matter-of-factly. “It’s the perfect chance for you to have fun for once.”

“Plus, he’s hot,” Jaebum adds, and Jinyoung is enthusiastically nodding his head in agreement. Mark sighs. The worst part is that he can’t deny Jackson is good looking.

“First of all, why are you guys always trying to get me to ‘have fun’?” Mark is grumbling, making dramatic air quotes with his fingers. “Can’t you just accept me the boring way I am?”

“So he admits he’s boring...” Jinyoung faux whispers.

“ _Second_ of all, how many times do I need to say that I barely know Jackson. The first time I’ve seen him was today, and I’m 99.99% sure you’re reading this all wrong.”

“But––” Jinyoung starts, getting cut off when Mark quickly puts a finger to his lips.

“Third of all, he has a girlfriend and is probably straight as a pencil,” Mark finishes. He hopes his argument will be valid enough to satisfy the other two, but Jaebum simply scoffs, unconvinced. 

“Have you even seen her?” He fires back. 

Mark is unsure how to respond for a moment, because the answer is no; admittedly Mark hasn’t seen her around yet, but Jackson had to have some reason to wait outside that classroom, right? Otherwise, why else would he show up? Even though Mark isn’t entirely sure how the blond managed to acquire a girlfriend on his first day of school, he doesn’t feel like Jackson would lie to his face. Jackson is a lot of things, but being a liar just doesn’t seem to be one of them to Mark.

“Besides, anyone with hair like that can’t be completely straight,” Jaebum is continuing confidently. Mark rolls his eyes.

“So that settles it,” Jinyoung cheerily exclaims when Mark doesn’t respond. “Let’s offer to show him around since he’s new here.”

“No,” Mark protests, but he knows at this point he might as well have not said anything at all.

“And let’s get him alone with Mark,” Jaebum suggests.

“ _Absolutely not_.”

 

______

 

Mark has a reason to feel a bit anxious when the next day arrived. As stupid as it sounds, he’s sort of expecting something after yesterday’s events. Mark isn’t sure what he’s expecting yet, or dare he say looking forward to, from a certain blond-haired student, but it’s there. A small voice (suspiciously sounding like Jinyoung) in the back of his mind keeps telling Mark, _Jackson has the hots for you_. Does he really though? He could just be an overly friendly person.

Something Mark had always struggled with was getting attached to people way too easily. Since he moved from place to place a lot as a kid, Mark never really had much time to work with to form true friendships. As a result, he had ended up becoming quickly attached to anyone and everyone who’d have a decent conversation with him two or three times. Mark and his family didn’t travel nearly as much nowadays, but old habits die hard he guessed.

On top of easily warming up to people, Mark knew from a somewhat early age that he was bisexual. Combined with the former problem, the results were disastrous. Mark had his heart broken countless times by countless people, many faces of whom he doesn’t recall, but he is definitely no stranger to one sided attraction. Mark remembers at one school he’d attended in America, he was utterly convinced that he was in love with this one girl and that she loved him back. It was the same story every other week with a different girl or boy, and each time Mark had been proven wrong.

At one point, Mark comes to realize his shortcomings. He compensates them by making himself more closed off and interacting less with others, and for a while that seems to work out for him. However, Mark soon faces a new problem; he was lonely, and very alone. He wonders if his life would always be like it was then, constantly moving around without a house (or people) that truly felt like home.

Then, he comes to Seoul. At first he’s prepared to accept it as his temporary home and ready to make temporary friends, but before he knows it, a year passes by in a flash, and then another. Somewhere along the line, Mark befriends Jinyoung and Jaebum. They’re two people he’s not sure how he’s survived without all this time (he’d never say that aloud though), and it feels nice having the same people tease you, hang out with, and occasionally argue with about some silly thing, for more than six months. He’d the felt dread creep up his spine at the prospect of having to leave Jinyoung and Jaebum eventually.

So when Mark’s parents announced they most likely won’t be moving again, relief floods through Mark like a dam collapsing. At last, Mark had thought with glee, he wouldn’t have to worry about leaving another life behind.

Now that Mark thinks about it, he had been through so much at such a young age and he’s proud of himself for being able to persevere. He’s survived having to start multiple new lives, survived the loneliness of friends that would come and go, and he’s managed to move on from dozens of incidents of unrequited love. 

Which makes his current situation seem all the more ridiculous. 

Mark groans as he buries his head into his arms. He never knew the day would come when he’d be acting like a helpless, lovestruck teenage girl, and Mark scolds himself for ever getting his hopes up in the first place. Hadn’t he learned from his mistakes? If he was lucky, the most Jackson and him would become were friends, he thinks sulkily.

While Mark is wallowing in his state of self-pity, a hand suddenly lands on his shoulder. “Rough night, Markie?” A deep voice sounds right beside his ear.

Mark whirls around to find Jackson standing in all his blond-haired, untucked shirt-ed glory. He’s way too close, leaning over Mark’s desk so he’s at face level, and Mark’s breathing gets slightly uneven at the proximity. All of a sudden, he finds his body frozen as his mind races for a response to Jackson’s simple question. His throat feels like it’s stuffed with cotton, and his cheeks are traitorously tinting pink again, but somehow Mark is able to manage a quiet, “Yeah.”

He clears his throat and tries again. “Please don’t give me a weird nickname. And I’m just tired.” _Tired of feeling head over heels in love with y––huh?_ Mark promptly slams his head back down onto the desk for thinking such a thought. There was something ironically familiar about this situation. 

“Wow, that bad?” Jackson is saying, amusement apparent in his tone. He seems completely unfazed by Mark’s annoyance. “Hate to break it to you, but the day just started.”

Mark just groans in response. “Thanks for reminding me,” he says sarcastically with his face still pressed against the desk.

And Mark just knows Jackson is giving him another shit-eating grin when he replies, “You’re welcome, Markiepooh.”

Fortunately (or unfortunately), the teacher decides to enter the room at that exact moment before Mark can give Jackson a piece of his mind. She instructs everyone to turn their textbooks to “page 264 now, I don’t feel like playing games today,” in that monotone voice of hers, all while Mark is slowly left dying on the inside from a mixture of embarrassment, frustration, and crippling despair.

On the other hand, Jackson seems to having a great time seeing Mark in so much pain if his snickering was anything to go by. 

 

______

 

When school finally ends, Mark is looking forward to a nice, relaxing bath when he gets home. Today felt like it had taken ten years off his life, so he could really use one right about now. Mark sighs and tries to focus on the positives instead. 

Fine, perhaps he was being a bit of a drama king, because school hadn’t been all that bad in actuality. Mark supposes it was nice scoring an A on the physics test he’d barely studied for, and he’d found $20 lying on the cafeteria floor at lunch. Also, Jackson had opted to refrain from pestering him any further the rest of first period.

Now, Mark was walking home by himself, Jinyoung absent on the account that he had to finish some work in the library, and Jaebum having not shown up for school. He had almost forgot what it was like not having them by his side, as they were the only ones he hung around with from school. Maybe, Mark should take his friends’ advice to socialize and mingle with more people one of these days. He knows their intentions are good. He knows they’re trying to look out for him (even though he’s older), and the last thing Mark wants to do is suffocate Jinyoung and Jaebum with how clingy he was being. It’s one of those rare moments when Mark is suddenly in the mood to go to a party sometime during the week.

He could count all the times he’s been to a party on one hand upon starting high school. None of those times he had gone by his own volition, but instead at the insistence of his friends one way or another. It wasn’t like Mark lacked any invitations from other people (actually, he’d gotten too many over the years, probably due to his fair looks and pleasant demeanor), but it was just simply because he didn't have the motivation to ever attend. What was there that he could possibly be interested in? Mark didn’t fancy being crowded into a small space with sweaty bodies drunkenly moving up against him every few minutes, nor did he care for the bitter tang of alcoholic drinks.

Yet a few months ago, Jaebum had somehow roped Mark into coming along with him to a party. Jaebum, unlike Jinyoung, was a lot less calculating and judgemental about everything. Although Mark has no problem with the younger boy’s behavior, if it’s Jaebum casually inviting him to a party with his mouth full of chips one afternoon while they’re studying together in his room, Mark is more likely to have his guard down and believe there is no underhanded motives. Jaebum tells him the party is at a friend of a friend’s place, that the house is huge and if Mark doesn’t want to dance or drink, he could just go off somewhere by himself. Mark contemplates the offer, before deciding sure, why not? He doesn’t have anything else planned anyway. 

It turns out that Mark just wasn’t destined to have a good time, though. The party had started off decent enough when he, Jinyoung, and Jaebum arrived. The music wasn’t excessively loud or obnoxious, and the food placed along the tables had been good. It was almost enjoyable. But just as Mark’s reclining on a chair and working on his second grilled cheese sandwich, he hears a crash on the opposite side of the room and glances over. There, he was greeted by the sight of Jaebum passed out on the couch shirtless and Jinyoung grinding up against a houseplant by the television set. Apparently his friends had become trashed in the forty or so minutes of their stay, and it’d almost be impressive if they were anyone else. But Mark did not find the turn of events very amusing.

Needless to say, Mark had decided at that point it was time to leave. Thank God he’d been hitting the gym recently, because Jinyoung and Jaebum were about as cooperative as a sack of bricks as he dragged them outside and called a taxi. They all made it home safely that night, but not before Mark gets to witness an eyeful of Jinyoung grinding all over Jaebum’s lap (probably mistaking him for the houseplant they’d left behind) during the taxi ride back.

That was why Mark didn’t go to parties anymore.

Mark was so caught up in his memory that he doesn’t notice he’s made it to his neighborhood already and almost falls over something that his foot gets caught on. Looking down, Mark realizes the object which nearly trips him is a cardboard box. There are more of them lying on the sidewalk further ahead, and Mark spots a bright orange truck parked at one of the houses.

Upon further inspection, the vehicle seems to be a moving truck. At the back, workers were carrying furniture and boxes out of the truck and piling them onto the lawn while a middle aged couple were standing off to the side organizing some items. The couple were probably his new neighbors, Mark assumed. He reminds himself to go say hi to them sometime when they weren’t as busy and turns around to his own house across the street.

But before Mark can even grab the handle of his door, someone is calling out his name in the distance. The voice is faint but familiar. Mark’s a little confused now, because he recognizes that voice as Jackson’s, but it wouldn’t make any sense for the other student to be here. Mark chalks it up to being so tired he’s hearing things and pushes the door open.

“Are you back to ignoring me?”

Mark stops in his tracks. He is definitely not hearing things, and that was _definitely_ Jackson speaking. Mark is almost scared to turn around, but he does so anyway despite how much he just really wants to flee into his house and slam the door shut behind him. He finds Jackson standing before him as expected, staring back with that same easygoing and confident expression on his face, a complete contrast of how Mark feels internally.

“Jackson,” Mark acknowledges the other carefully. How...why was Jackson here? Could it be possible that he had followed Mark home? Mark inwardly denies the thought. Surely he had not. Even by Jackson’s standards, doing so would be on a whole different level of creepy. So because he genuinely would like to know, Mark asks him instead, “What are you doing here?”

“What do you mean what am I doing here?” Jackson replies, tilting his head in confusion as if Mark is missing the most obvious thing in the world.

The blond boy gestures to the house across the street, where the orange moving truck is still situated and the couple is still sorting out their belongings. Jackson looks at Mark expectantly, and everything starts to gradually click into place. 

“I live here.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you made it this far, thanks for reading! I hope I didn't make them too out of character. Also, please let me know if there are any mistakes x)
> 
> Comments/suggestions appreciated


End file.
